Articles filed under Pankey, Deborah

From the Food Editor: Smart shopping, cooking can reduce food wasteMar 3, 2015 6:00 AMBy Deborah Pankey
1,160 pounds. That's the amount of food waste the average American family of four will produce this year. That's not a number Food Editor Deborah Pankey is proud of and it's a number she pledges to lower. And she has a new book to help: "The Kitchen Ecosystem."

From the food editor: Aurora grocer collects recipes for second edition cookbookFeb 23, 2015 11:18 AMBy Deborah Pankey
Wondering how to make rabbit stew? Open up a copy of the newly minted second edition of “Prisco’s Family & Friends’ Cookbook.” The popular Aurora grocery store earlier this month released its new cookbook that features 329 recipes from more than 100 contributors. Not game for game? Try Baked Ziti with Sausage.

From the Food Editor: Try Chinese steamed dumplings at homeFeb 17, 2015 6:00 AMBy Deborah Pankey
Chinese cooking expert and author and Gurnee resident Ying Stoller admitted that it’s tough to pull off a dim sum brunch at home since one of the appeals of the experience is the ability to try a number of items. Yet that shouldn’t stop you from trying steamed dumplings — a staple of the dim sum cart — in your own kitchen.

Geneva pastry god sculpts white chocolate Eros for Food Network special Feb 3, 2015 6:41 AMBy Deborah Pankey
Geneva's patron saint of pastry, chef Alain Roby celebrates Valentine's Day a little early by inviting people to see his life-size sculpture of the Eros, the Greek God of Love, at his All Chocolate Kitchen. The winged unearthly creature was crafted using 948 pounds of white chocolate. Roby's work is documented on the upcoming "Food Netowrk Specials: Chocolate” that premiers at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7.

From the food editor: Locally made Buffalo sauce scores big pointsJan 28, 2015 6:21 AMBy Deborah Pankey
"It's by far our busiest day of the year,” Dave Weiss says of Super Bowl Sunday at his restaurant, Gator's Wing Shack in Palatine. “We sold 8,500 wings last year; we anticipate 10,000 wings this year. It's awesome and crazy. People have already started preordering.” The following is not without reason — the restaurant is a four-time Best of the Fest winner at Wing Fest. You can make Gator's wings at home this game day now that its award-winning sauces are available at local supermarkets.

From the food editor: A toast to turmericJan 20, 2015 6:17 AMBy Deborah Pankey
As part of my resolution to explore new cuisines in 2015, I’ve discovered turmeric. I’ve used this earthy, slightly peppery spice in a slow-cooker stew and butternut squash soup and even sprinkled a bit into hummus. Here's a recipe for a spicy cider that includes this spice in fresh form.

From the food editor: Make a resolution to expand your palateJan 6, 2015 10:00 AMBy Deborah Pankey
When I made my list of New Year’s resolutions last week, cooking more adventurously was on the list. Inspired by today’s Cook of the Week profile on Aban Daboo, I’m going to start with Indian cuisines. That decision was made even easier with the help of the Kitchen Curry Master.

From the Food Editor: Palatine teen teams up with celebrity chef for soup cooking demoNov 12, 2014 6:26 AMBy Deborah Pankey
Palatine tween Tess Boghossian will join forces with award-winning Chicago chef Paul Kahan on Saturday, Nov. 15, at Green City Market to demonstrate how to make Lincoln's Inaugural Soup, the recipe that won her a spot at first lady Michelle Obama's table earlier this year. Plus, we tell you how to enter a gingerbread contest hosted by Geneva's All Chocolate Kitchen.

Geneva mom to represent suburbs at World Food Championships in Las VegasNov 4, 2014 6:00 AMBy Deborah Pankey
Don’t call her a contester just yet. That’s what her mom is, claims Ann Jones, a mom herself residing in Geneva. Jones is heading to Las Vegas to compete with a couple of hundred other enthusiastic home cooks and professional chefs in the massive World Food Championships. The multiday food sport event runs Nov. 12-18 and will showcase more than 400 competitors.

From the food editor: Turning over a new leaf and discovering a superfoodOct 28, 2014 6:00 AMBy Deborah Pankey
When you buy heads of broccoli at the grocery store, you get just a fraction of the plant. So what happens to the enormous leaves that feed and protect those verdant florets until they’re harvested for your plate? Generally, those leaves would be left in the field to cleanse and add nutrients to the soil. Turns out they can cleanse and provide nutrients for us as well. The flavor of BroccoLeaf is a tad sweeter than other dark greens, like kale, and is an excellent source of calcium and is packed with vitamins A, C and K and folate.

From the Food Editor: Mario Batali kicks off holiday book seasonOct 7, 2014 6:00 AMBy Deborah Pankey
Mario Batali comes to the Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove later this month to talk up his new cookbook, "America Farm to Table." He's just one of dozens of authors who hit the tour circuit this season to pump up book sales before the holidays. Speaking of getting pumped up, Food Editor Deborah Pankey steers you toward some pumpkin-spiced products you may not have tried yet.

From the food editor: Mother of six shares recipes for family dinners under $10Sep 23, 2014 5:51 AMBy Deborah Pankey
When Jessica Fisher’s new book “Good Cheap Eats” landed on my desk recently, I was intrigued. In her book, Fisher, a wife and mother of six who coupon-clipped her way out of debt, shares 200 recipes that come together for $10 or less. Seriously $10. Her trick isn’t coupons. It’s smart shopping.

Football season brings chance to run cochinita pibil game planSep 9, 2014 11:37 AMBy Deborah Pankey
Just in time for the Bears' first night game, Deborah Pankey tackles (!) cooking pig parts in a pit dug in her own backyard. She shares her cochinita pibil game plan (inspired by a trip to Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula a few years ago) so you can try it, too. Inspired by a promotion by the National Pork Board, she got a chance to cross it off her pork bucket list.

From the Food Editor: Taking up the fight against hunger Sep 3, 2014 6:30 AMBy Deborah Pankey
Next time you're at the grocery store, the mall, your child's football game, take a look around and consider this: one of the people you walk passed will go to bed hungry. The Northern Illinois Food Bank and food banks across the country ask people and businesses to “Go Orange” on Thursday, Sept. 4, to generate awareness of hunger in our communities.

From the Food Editor: College cuisine from food service and beyondAug 20, 2014 11:13 AMBy Deborah Pankey
Food editor Deborah Pankey didn't think the dorm food at University of Illinois was half bad, but granted that was a few decades ago before she developed a food critic's palette. Still, she was surprised that her alma mater didn't land on The Daily Meal's list of the 75 Best Colleges for Food in America for 2014. Only two Big 10 schools made the list — Northwestern and Purdue. University of Chicago and Wheaton College also got a nod.

From the food editor: Catching up with suburban chef-testantsJul 29, 2014 12:00 PMBy Deborah Pankey
Want to know what some of our local reality TV stars have been up to lately? Brian Emmett, winner of "The American Baking Competition" tells Food Editor Deborah Pankey his book is due out next spring. And chef Paul Caravelli, a former Libertyville chef who appeared on Season 1 of "The Taste," has re-settled in Sacramento where he's making "the best pizza in the country."